Adobe Connect: Conference, Collaborate & Broadcast your Lecture via the Web

Transcription

1 Adobe Connect: Conference, Collaborate & Broadcast your Lecture via the Web University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) Ronald Haynes

2 Adobe Connect: Conference, Collaborate & Broadcast your Lecture via the Web This introduction to the Adobe Connect Web conferencing and collaboration system provides an overview of an exceptional solution for virtual meetings, seminars, interviews, presentations and instructor-led courses and training. Adobe Connect enables organisers to create, deliver, manage, support and track discussions and courses while providing a communication environment that can reflect much of the in-person experience. There are options for a variety of collaborative interactions, including via polls, quizzes, breakout rooms for larger and diverse groups, as well as flexible whiteboard and desktop sharing, lecture capture, one-way talks and webinars, and a range of add-ons and programmability to customise for specialised requirements. Live and previously-recorded sessions can be accessed from virtually any computer-like device, from desktop personal computers and laptops to various mobile devices (including Android and Apple ios). This guide is updated and adapted from: Tutor guide to Adobe Connect 8, Centre for Academic Practice, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, February 2011 ( In turn, that guide was also adapted from documentation provided by Adobe ( Both guides are licensed under a Creative Commons NonCommercial-ShareAlike License ( University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 2

3 Contents 1 Introduction 4 2 Preparing to access Connect 5 3 Accounts and roles Default accounts 4 Managing a meeting Participation and notifications 4.2 Set Meeting Room Bandwith Allowing participants to share their audio and video Audio Set-Up Wizard 4.3 Troubleshooting 4.4 Communicating with participants 4.5 Ending a session 5 The Connect Interface The Administration Interface 5.2 The Room Interface 5.3 Pods overview and Pod Options 5.4 The Attendee List Pod 5.5 View or Change an Attendee s Role About attendee names Change an attendee s role Automatically promote participants to presenters Assign enhanced participant rights Remove an attendee from a meeting Attendee Pod List Pod Options 5.6 The Video Pod Adjust Video Quality 5.7 The Chat Pod Send a Chat Message Clear messages from a Chat pod Disable private chat between participants Use chat notifications Format chat text the contents of a Chat pod 5.8 The Note Pod Note Pod options 5.9 The Share Pod The Adobe Connect Add-in Share Computer Screen Screen sharing options Share control of your screen with host or presenter Share control of your screen with a participant Request control of a shared screen Release control of a shared screen Change the view of a shared screen Preview your shared screen Share Documents Share Whiteboards 5.10 The Poll Pod Setting up a Poll Close Poll Display poll results to participants Clear poll answers 5.11 The Q & A Pod University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 3

4 Participants view of the Q & A pod Submit a question in the Q & A pod Answer questions using the Q&A pod Manage your questions with filters Assign a question to specific presenter Show Questions with different statuses Delete individual questions Clear all questions Hide attendee names for questions Export Q & A contents to a text file or Pod Administration 6 Room Layouts The Sharing Layout 6.2 The Discussion Layout 6.3 The Collaboration Layout 6.4 Custom Layouts 7 Setting up a room Pre-Loading content 8 Breakout Rooms About breakout room layouts 8.2 Creating and Managing Breakout Rooms Define breakout rooms and assign members Begin a breakout session Visiting breakout rooms Send a message to all attendees in breakout rooms Conduct a poll in breakout rooms Asking and answering questions in breakout rooms Chatting in breakout rooms End a breakout session Share breakout room content in main room Reopen closed breakout rooms Remove breakout rooms 9 Using the Recording Function Start recording a meeting 9.2 Stop recording a meeting 9.3 Playing back a recorded meeting Play a recording from Adobe Connect Central (hosts and presenters) 9.4 Editing Recordings About Editing Recordings Edit a recorded meeting Create an offline recording 10 Accessibility Features Menu Navigation 10.2 Navigation among pods 10.3 Keyboard shortcuts 11 Online Tutorials 45 University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 4

5 1 Introduction Connect is an interactive online learning environment including audio, video and text facilities. It provides you with an online meeting room, office, or teaching space to communicate with students, staff, guests or collaborators in real-time wherever you may be. Meetings or presentations may be recorded and stored online for easy access later. Each online meeting can hold 100 participants, or potentially more if needed. 2 Preparing to access Connect Connect is an online and interactive tool and for successful use you will need: CUDN or broadband access to the internet (wired preferable to wireless) Either: Microphone and speakers (or headphones) USB speakerphone (or headset) Webcam Connect will work with a good wireless connection, but will usually work best with a wired connection, and can use either an external or built-in webcam (or potentially both). Within the University and Colleges it is recommended that Connect is accessed directly across the Internet either from a PC in a teaching / meeting room or from your laptop or mobile device using a wireless connection. Note: Although wireless can be used it is recommended that wherever possible you use a hard-wire CUDN/broadband connection. Virtual desktops and thin-client systems (e.g. Citrix) generally should not be used for Connect as they are unlikely to work well. Flash Player - Adobe Connect 8 uses the latest Adobe Flash Player (unless using the special mobile or desktop clients). This is installed on most PCs but many computers may need Flash Player to be upgraded. To check the version of your Flash Player visit: For some University and Colleges computers, you may need to contact your local IT colleagues if an upgrade is required. For home PC s and laptops, and other systems you administer, you can download the latest version of Flash Player from During the Connect pilot the UCS (rsh27@cam.ac.uk) will consult with those involved with the testing, organise the account details, and can set up an initial meeting room. Once fully operational, you will have automatic access to Connect and your meeting rooms via your Raven account. Before logging into Connect: Ensure that no processor intensive programs are running on your computer (e.g. videos, Skype, Facebook or YouTube). Make sure that your webcam is not activated. After accessing Connect, you can activate your webcam through the Connect interface. Check that pop-ups are enabled on your computer. (e.g. with Internet Explorer, select: Tools/Pop-up Blocker and follow the setting instructions to ensure you have popups enabled; it is important to allow pop-ups for this site). Go to the main Adobe Connect website: (use the URL provided) University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 5

6 Log in with the account details provided. [Note, for now please ignore: the Forgot your password? button.] 3 Accounts and roles Currently all Connect accounts are set up through the UCS, as part of the Connect pilot. Everyone who has been allocated a Connect account and room is designated a Host, and where needed a room can be set up with multiple Hosts. Any others can be invited to join in as guest participants. Initially, when accounts are created each user will receive an with details of their username and password, together with a link to the main Connect login page for the created room. Where Connect is being used to facilitate meetings with collaborative partners, etc. rather than in a learning and teaching capacity, it may be appropriate for all the attendees to be designated as Presenters. The default account types and their roles are listed below. 3.1 Default accounts Your role determines your capabilities for sharing, broadcasting, and other activities in a Connect meeting. There are three roles for meeting room attendees: host, presenter and participant. The creator of a meeting is designated as the host by default. The host can specify each attendee s role including selecting other attendees to be hosts for the meeting. Permissions for each role are as follows: Host: Hosts can set up a meeting, invite guests, share content, and add or edit layouts in a meeting room. They can promote other participants to the role of meeting room host or presenter, or give enhanced permissions to a participant without promoting the participant. Hosts can also start and stop broadcasting audio into a meeting room. Hosts are able to create and manage small group breakout rooms within a meeting. They can also perform all the tasks that a presenter or participant can. Presenter: Presenters can share content already loaded into the meeting room and share content from their computer, including Adobe Presenter presentations and other PPT files, Flash application and SWF files, images (e.g. JPEG files), Adobe PDF files, MP3 files, and FLV files. They can share their screen with all attendees, chat, and broadcast live audio and video. Presenters can mute and unmute audio broadcasts on their computers. Participant: Participants can view the content that the presenter is sharing, hear and see the presenter s audio and video broadcast, use text chat, and give quick University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 6

7 visual feedback (e.g. raise hand, agree/disagree, step away, etc.). Participants can mute and unmute audio broadcasts on their computers. 4 Managing a meeting 4.1 Participation and notifications When other people follow your meeting invitation and log-in to Connect (e.g. as a Guest) they will see a notice please wait, while you have been alerted of their request to enter the room (unless the room has been set to allow everyone with the URL to enter). Once they have entered the room, you will see their name appear in the Attendee List pod. As participants, they are not able to change anything on their screen (except selected choices and text chat) but will see all the pods visible on your screen, although without any of the pod options that you have as host. Any changes that you make to your screen in terms of content or layout will automatically update on the participants screens. 4.2 Set Meeting Room Bandwith The host can set the meeting room bandwidth to determine the rate (kilobits/second) at which data from the meeting is sent to attendees. Where possible, choose a room bandwidth that matches the connection speed used by attendees. If attendees are using a variety of connection speeds, try to choose the lowest speed attendees are (likely to be) using to ensure that all participants have a good connection. 1. Choose Meeting > Preferences. 2. In the list on the left, select Room Bandwidth. Then select one of the following options: LAN DSL/Cable Modem One presenter can generate around 250 kbits/second of data. Attendees need around 255 kbits/second. If screen sharing is used, attendees should have 400 kbits/second. One presenter can generate around 125 kbits/second of data. Attendees need around 128 kbits/second for a good connection. If screen sharing is used, attendees should have 200 kbits/second. One presenter can generate around 26 kbits/second of data. Attendees need around 29 kbits/second for a good connection. Having more than one presenter with the Modem setting is not recommended. Screen sharing with the Modem setting is not recommended Allowing participants to share their audio and video Video When beginning a Connect session you will often want to share your own video (via the webcam) with the participants (see The Video Pod). Hosts and presenters can share their own video and the participants will see the shared video pod automatically appear containing the presenter s image, but their pod will not allow them to share their own video. If you wish to grant your participants access to share their video you have to allow this manually as it is not automatic. To allow participants to share their video, click the drop-down menu next to the video icon in the toolbar and select Enable Webcam for Participants. The participants will then see the option Start My University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 7

8 Webcam in their video pod window: (Alternatively, this can be granted individually, by hovering the mouse pointer over a participant and selecting Enable Video). Audio All hosts and presenters can automatically share their audio with others in the room. To talk, click the microphone button When you have finished speaking, click the button again to turn off the microphone. If you leave the microphone on, it is likely that feedback will occur when others are talking. To allow participants to share their audio, click the Audio button in toolbar and select Enable Audio for Participants. (Alternatively, this can be granted individually, by hovering the mouse pointer over a participant and selecting Enable Microphone). The participants will then see the microphone button appear in their toolbar Audio Set-Up Wizard Once in a room, a set-up wizard is available that takes the user (whether host, presenter or participant) through a sequence of steps to ensure that both speakers and microphone are working and set to the correct level. The wizard can be accessed through the main Meeting menu: Meeting > Audio Setup Wizard. 4.3 Troubleshooting When participants first enter the room they will not have audio and video, and although they may be able to see your video if you are sharing it, they may not be able to hear you if their speakers are not connected. You could use the Note Pod (see section 5.8) to display instructions to participants on how to access the Audio Setup Wizard (see section 4.2.2). University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 8

9 Also the Text Chat Pod is a useful tool for communicating with participants if they are having difficulties so it is advisable to have this Pod enabled when participants are entering the room. 4.4 Communicating with participants To speak to your participants click the microphone button: Release the talk button when you are finished speaking. Generally, if more than one person is talking at once there is a likelihood of feedback so always turn your talk button off when someone else is speaking. If the room is being used for a presentation or group discussion it is important that you moderate the discussion to avoid everybody talking at the same time. You should let the participants know that if they have a question or wish to speak that they should raise their hand and you will let them know when it is their turn to speak. In some cases you may wish to turn off their microphone. Let participants know that if they wish to speak they can use the raise hand button: (The drop-down menu options include Raise Hand, which is the default option.) When this button is clicked by a participant, you will see a pop-up window temporarily appear advising you of the name of the participant who has raised their hand. The pop-up will ask you to either approve or decline the request: If approved the participant will receive a pop-up message advising them that they have been granted permission to speak: University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 9

10 Note: even if you have not previously granted participants audio rights, accepting a raisehand request will automatically grant that user audio rights. That user s audio rights are retained unless you manually remove them. Note: if you have already granted audio rights the participant will not receive a pop-up message like the one above. To remove an individual s audio rights, hover the cursor over their name in the Attendee list. You should see a list of options for that participant, where you can Disable Audio: If you decline a raise-hand request the participant will receive the following message: The drop-down menu can also be used for other visual status cues such as a tick for agreement or confirmation, a cross to disagree, applause or laughter. Users can clear their own status by clicking the Clear Status option from the drop-down menu. As a host or presenter you can clear an individual participant s status or clear everyone s status choose. Clear an individual s status Select an individual from the Attendee List. Using the Pod Options select: Attendee Options > Clear Attendee Status University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 10

11 Clear Everyone s Status From the Pod Options in the Attendee Pod select Clear Everyone s Status 4.5 Ending a session To close a meeting and remove all participants from a room click Meeting >End Meeting. The following window will be displayed allowing you to tailor the message to participants as desired: University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 11

12 PLEASE NOTE: If you exit a room by closing the room window, but without selecting End Meeting, participants will be able to remain in the room and will not be removed until they log-out. They will also be able to re-enter the room at any time, even if you are not present. Sometimes this is helpful, but otherwise it might be unwanted. 5 The Connect Interface 5.1 The Administration Interface A standard Connect login would take you to an account homepage, rather than directly to a room, list the Connect rooms to which you have access, and the access level that you have for that room. From this interface, it would be possible to enter a room by selecting the Open button next to the room title: (The University s Connect implementation will provide an simpler alternative to this for everyday use.) 5.2 The Room Interface An example of the basic room interface is shown below. The interface contains a combination of individual windows (Pods) and menus. The interface is very flexible and can be tailored to meet your individual requirements (see section 6.4) University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 12

13 If you have previously used the room it will be exactly as you left it, with any presentations, chat messages, etc. still visible. As the owner of a room, if content is not needed for next time, it may be worthwhile clearing a room at the end of a session. This will avoid any old chat, notes or presentations being available for the next session, which could be confusing. 5.3 Pods overview and Pod Options Each pod within Connect can be manually resized, moved or hidden from view. To move a pod click and drag on the grey bar at the top of the pod To resize a pod click and drag diagonally on any corner of the pod To remove a pod click the Hide Pod icon (like the minimize icon) To maximise a pod click the maximise button on the right-hand side of pod title-bar. To return to its original size click restore. If you have hidden a pod or wish to open a new pod use the Pods menu option and open a new or existing pod: University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 13

14 In the top-right corner of each pod is an icon for Pod options, which will open a contextual menu for each pod. The options available will depend on which pod it is: 5.4 The Attendee List Pod This pod contains a list of all those who have logged into Connect and entered the room (hosts, presenters and participants): 5.5 View or Change an Attendee s Role A host can use the Attendees pod to change the role of any attendee, moving between participant, presenter and host as necessary About attendee names Adobe Connect users who logged in with a password appear with their full name in the Attendees pod, as it is registered in Adobe Connect Central. If an attendee is logged in to a meeting as a guest, the name in the Attendees pod is the name that the guest entered at login. Within a role group (hosts, presenters, and participants), attendee names are organized alphabetically Change an attendee s role In the Attendees pod, select one or more attendees (Shift-click, or Control-click to select multiple attendees). Either: Drag the attendees to different roles. Or From the pop-up menu, select Make Host, Presenter or Participant. University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 14

15 Dragging attendees to different roles As a host, you can temporarily reduce your role to that of a presenter or participant, revealing how attendees with other roles see the meeting room Automatically promote participants to presenters If all participants in a meeting will be presenting, such as for a committee or round-table discussion, you can pre-set the room with the following action: Choose Meeting > Manage Access & Entry > Auto-Promote Participants to Presenters Assign enhanced participant rights Hosts can change the rights of a participant to give them control over selected pods. This enhances a participant s rights without promoting the participant to the presenter or host role. 1. In the Attendees pod, select the name of one or more participants. 2. In the upper-right corner of the pod, click the menu icon. 3. Select Attendee Options > Enhanced Participant Rights. 4. In the dialog box, select the pods that you want the participant to control Remove an attendee from a meeting 1. In the Attendees pod, select the attendees you want to remove. 2. In the upper-right corner of the pod, click the menu icon and choose Remove Selected User Attendee Pod Options As well as the usual Attendee View, there are also options to change the view to focus on Breakout Rooms, or the Attendees Status (e.g. quick votes with hands up, agree/disagree, etc.). University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 15

16 5.6 The Video Pod All hosts and presenters are able, by default, to share their video (webcam) and audio (microphone) with others in the room. To share your video, click on Start My Webcam in the video pod: If the video pod is not visible in the room layout click the Video Icon from the toolbar and select Start My Webcam You should receive a pop-up message about Flash Player settings, asking whether you wish to share your camera: University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 16

17 If you have more than one webcam or microphone and you wish to check that the correct one is selected, right click on the Camera and Video Pod and choose Settings from the menu: Selecting the camera or microphone icon will allow you to check or select the correct device from a drop down list. Your camera will then start in Preview mode. To start broadcasting to other users click the Start Sharing button: Adjust Video Quality If you are a host, presenter or participant with video rights, you can adjust the quality of your webcam video. 1. In the upper right of the Video pod, click the menu icon, and choose Preferences. 2. Adjust the Video Quality setting to optimize the trade-off between image quality and bandwidth usage. For example, if shared screens update slowly, choose a lower Video Quality setting. This setting interacts with the meeting room bandwidth set by the host. (See section 4.2) University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 17

18 5.7 The Chat Pod Send a Chat Message Use the Chat pod to compose a chat message and address it to a specific participant, to all presenters at the meeting, or to all attendees. 1. By default, everyone will see the message. To limit the recipients, click the menu icon in the upper-right corner of the Chat pod. Choose Start Chat With, and then select Hosts, Presenters or specific attendees. At the bottom of the Chat pod, tabs appear that let you view different conversations: 2. Click the text box in the Chat pod. 3. Enter your message. 4. Do one of the following: Click Send Message to the right of the text box. Press Enter or Return. Your name, the addressee name, and your message appear in the Chat pod. University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 18

19 5.7.2 Clear messages from a Chat pod When an empty Chat pod is required in a meeting, a host or presenter can clear all messages for all attendees. 1. In the upper-right corner of the Chat pod, click the menu icon. 2. Select Clear Chat Disable private chat between participants By default, two participants can chat privately. As a host or presenter, you can disable this option and prevent private chat. 1. Choose Meeting > Preferences. 2. Select Chat Pod from the list on the left. 3. Deselect Enable Private Chat For Participants Use chat notifications If you are a host or presenter using the Connect Add in, chat notifications let you communicate with your audience while you are presenting and the meeting window is minimized or maximized to full-screen, concealing the Chat pod. If an attendee sends you a message while you are presenting in full screen or screen sharing mode, a notification appears in the lower-right corner of the screen. You can see the sender s name and the first few words of the message in the notification window. By default, chat notifications are enabled. If you don t want notifications to be shown while you are presenting, you can disable them. 1. Choose Meeting > Preferences. 2. Select Chat Pod from the list on the left. 3. From the pop-up menu, choose either Disable or a time duration to display each notification Format chat text In the upper-right corner of the Chat pod, click the menu icon following:, and select any of the Text Size Changes size in your view only. My Chat Colour Changes your text colour in the view of all participants, making your remarks stand out. Show Timestamps For hosts only, displays the date and time of chat entries the contents of a Chat pod Hosts and presenters can a chat history for future reference. In the upper-right corner of the Chat pod, click the menu icon, and select E- mail Chat History. 5.8 The Note Pod The Note Pod allows hosts and presenters to add notes during a meeting which are visible to all participants in the room. The note pod can be used to contain a single note University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 19

20 visible through the meeting or multiple notes can be added to the same pod. Multiple note pods can be created using the Pod menu option (Pods > Notes > Add New Notes) Note Pod options The Note Pod options give the host or presenter the ability to any notes in the pod. The Adobe Add-In must be installed for this function to be enabled. 5.9 The Share Pod Adobe Connect allows hosts and presenters to share: Their computer screen Documents and presentations Whiteboards The Adobe Connect Add-in Presenters and hosts must install the Connect Add in the first time they attempt to upload content or share a screen. The Add in is a special version of Flash Player with additional features for hosts and presenters. The Add in provides support for uploading files to the server and sharing screens during a meeting. It also provides additional audio support. Note: If you have a pop up blocker enabled in your browser, the dialog box for downloading the Add in will not appear. To correct this problem, temporarily disable the pop up blocker. University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 20

21 To share content with the room click on the relevant option from the drop down menu Share My Screen University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 21

22 5.9.2 Share Computer Screen Using Connect it is possible to share your desktop or any application window that you have open Screen sharing options Desktop (or Secure Desktop Sharing) Shares the contents of your desktop. The Desktop option allows you to share contents on your desktop. Windows Shares one or more windows that are open and running on your computer. Choose the window or windows that you want to share. Applications Shares an application and all its related windows that are open and running on your computer. Choose the application or applications that you want to share Share control of your screen with host or presenter While screen sharing, you can pass control of the shared desktop, window or application to another host or presenter. 1. Start sharing your screen. 2. A host or presenter clicks Request Control on the Share pod title bar. 3. You see a request message in the upper-right corner of the meeting room window. Do one of the following: Click Accept to grant control of your screen. Click Decline to deny control of your screen Share control of your screen with a participant 1. Select a participant s name in the Attendees pod and select Request Screen Share. 2. An alert appears on the participant s screen that says Begin Sharing Desktop? and they should click Start. 3. Your participant can then Set Screen sharing options. 4. They click the Share button at the bottom of the Start Screen Sharing window to begin sharing Request control of a shared screen Hosts and presenters can request control of the screen shared by a participant, but the request must be granted. Control cannot be taken without permission. Click the Request Control button on the Share pod title bar. If the request is accepted, a message informs you that you have been granted control of the screen. The Request Control button becomes a Release Control button. You can now take control of the shared screen. Participants can also use the Request Control button to request control of a screen shared by a host or presenter Release control of a shared screen Click the Release Control button on the Share pod control strip (or in the notification window) to return control of the shared screen to the original Host or Presenter Change the view of a shared screen University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 22

23 If you re viewing a screen shared by another presenter, you can scale the screen to fit entirely within the Share pod, or zoom in for a clearer image. In the upper-right corner of the Share pod, choose Change View, and then select either Scale To Fit or Zoom In Preview your shared screen When sharing an application, window, or desktop on your computer, you can see a preview that shows what participants see in their Share pod. In the upper-right corner of the Share pod, click the menu icon Preview Screen., and select Share Documents Connect allows you to upload files (e.g. PowerPoint and PDF) directly to a Share Pod. This function is particularly useful if you want to present a PowerPoint presentation in a course or meeting session. To upload a PowerPoint or PDF click on Share Documents under Share My Screen in the centre of the Share Pod. You will then have the option to choose Browse from My Computer and navigate to your chosen file. Click Open and the file will be uploaded to the Share Pod. Once the file has been uploaded you will see navigation controls become visible and you can use these to move through your PowerPoint or PDF document. If you have previously uploaded a document to the room it will be listed in Uploaded Files. Sync Navigation By default, as a Host or Presenter, when you move through an uploaded document the participants will see the slides or pages that you are looking at. There is however, the option to allow participants to move through an uploaded document at their own pace in any order. This may be useful if you wish participants to read through a document before discussing it or if you wish to allow them time to review a presentation. To allow participants to navigate through a document at their own pace click the Sync button: The presentation will then appear with navigation controls for the participants. University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 23

24 Participants can use these controls to navigate through a document. At any point you as host or presenter can re-sync the navigation in order to bring the participants all back to the same page or slide that you are looking at. To do this just click the Sync button again. One of the icons in the navigation (see above) controls allows participants to see the menu structure and full titles for each of the slides in a PowerPoint presentation. This function also allows participants to view any notes that the presenter has added to the presentation: Full Screen There is a Full-Screen option in the menu bar which will maximise the Share Pod content to a full-screen view. Please note that while the content is displayed full screen you and the participants will be unable to see the Connect interface containing the Video Pod, etc. To return to normal view click the Full-Screen button. It is also possible to maximise the presentation yet retain access to the main Connect menu. To do this, click on the Pod Options for the Share Pod and select Maximise. The presentation will now fill up the whole Connect content area. To change back to the original size go back to Pod Options and select Restore If you no longer wish to share the current content in the share pod, click the Stop Sharing button. This will clear the content from the Share Pod, whilst keeping the empty Share Pod still visible. To hide the Share Pod completely click the Pod Options and choose Hide. University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 24

25 Whiteboard Overlay It is possible to annotate a document (e.g. a PDF or PowerPoint file) using the Whiteboard tools. To enable this function click the Draw button: Share Whiteboards To share a whiteboard click on Whiteboard under Share My Screen in the centre of the Share Pod (or from the Share button in the Share Pod choose Whiteboard) The Poll Pod Hosts can use the Poll pod to create questions, or polls, for participants and to view the results. Only hosts can control poll management and how polls appear to meeting participants. Hosts can also cast votes. Polls are useful during a session if you want instant feedback on what is being presented. Polls can also be used at the end of a session for evaluation Setting up a Poll 1. If the Poll pod is not displayed, click the Pods menu and select Poll > New Poll Pod. 2. Enter a question and answers into the Poll pod. Each answer must be entered on a new line. 3. To begin polling click the Open Poll button University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 25

26 Close Poll At the top of the Poll pod, click Close Display poll results to participants Either: Click the Broadcast Results box at the bottom-right of the Poll pod Or: Click the Pod Options button in the upper-right corner of the Poll pod and select Broadcast Results from the drop-down menu. The poll responses appear to all meeting participants Clear poll answers 1. Click the Pod Options button in the upper-right corner of the Poll pod. 2. Select Clear All Answers from the drop-down menu The Q & A Pod Note: If the Q & A Pod is not accessible through the main Pods menu you may have to first open the Presenter Only Area: Meeting > Enable Presenter Only Area. Then disable the Presenter Only Area and open the Q &A Pod as normal. You can use a Q & A pod to answer questions posed by attendees. When a presenter answers a question, the question and answer appear as pairs in the Q & A pod. Hosts can give participants enhanced rights, letting them answer questions as well. (See section 5.5.4) Here are some examples in which the Q & A pod is helpful: University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 26

27 In a session, where there are lots of attendees, questions are added to a queue on the Q & A pod while the speaker presents. After completing the presentation, the speaker reviews the messages and addresses the questions. A meeting moderator answers some questions whilst the presenter is talking but forwards other questions to the presenter which they address after their presentation. The Q & A Pod provides more functionality and control over questions as opposed to the chat tool. Presenter View of Q&A Pod A: Filter the list of questions B: Forward to another presenter C:.Reply to the sender only D: Reply to everyone By default, hosts and presenters see the Q & A pod with additional controls, but you can quickly see questions with answers as participants do. Participant View of the Q&A pod University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 27

28 In the upper-right corner of the Q & A pod, click either of the following: Presenter View displays additional filtering and assignment controls visible only to hosts and presenters. Participant View displays the simple list of questions and answers that participants see Submit a question in the Q & A pod In the Participant View of the Q & A pod, type your question in the text box at the bottom. To the right of the text box, click the Send Question button, or press Return Answer questions using the Q&A pod Select an incoming question from the list. Type your answer in the text box at the bottom of the pod: Click one of the following buttons in the lower-right corner of the Q & A pod: Answer question to everyone attendees. Sends the answer to all meeting Answer question to submitter only attendee who sent the question. Sends the answer only to the Manage your questions with filters If you are a host or presenter, you can add a filter to the queue of questions in a Q & A pod so that you can see certain questions while hiding others. If there are a lot of questions, this will help you to manage the questions. You can also forward a question to another presenter to answer. 1. Click the pop up menu in the upper-left corner of the Q & A pod. 2. Select a filter from the following list: Show All Questions Show My Questions Show Open Questions Show Answered Questions Displays all questions that you have received, starting either with a new pod or from the last time the pod was cleared. Displays only the questions that have been assigned to you. Displays all unanswered questions not assigned to anyone. Displays all questions that have been answered. University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 28

29 Answered questions appear in italics with a checkmark Assign a question to specific presenter You can allocate questions to individual presenters with specific expertise, including yourself, avoiding multiple people working on the same answer. 1. In the Presenter View of the Q & A pod, select the question from the Incoming Messages list. 2. Select a presenter name from the Assign To pop up menu. Presenters can reassign questions to other presenters or choose None to cancel assignment. Indicators for assigned questions A. Question mark in pod title bar indicates questions are assigned to you. B. Question marks in list indicate specific questions for you. C. Lock indicates questions assigned to other presenters Show Questions with different statuses If you are a host or presenter, you can add a filter to the queue of questions in a Q & A pod so that you can see certain questions while hiding others. You can also forward a question to another presenter to answer. University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 29

30 1. In the Presenter View of the Q & A pod, click the pop up menu in the upperleft corner. 2. Select one of the following: Show All Questions Displays all questions that you have received, starting either with a new pod or from the last time the pod was cleared. Show Open Questions Displays all unanswered questions not assigned to anyone. Show Answered Questions Displays all questions that have been answered. Show My Questions Displays only unanswered questions that have been assigned to you Delete individual questions You can delete questions to clean up the Presenter View. (Deleted questions and associated answers remain in the Participant View.) 1. In the Presenter View of the Q & A pod, select a question. 2. Click Delete Clear all questions To remove all content from the Presenter and Participant views, do the following: In the upper-right corner of the Q & A pod, click the menu icon. Select Clear All Questions Hide attendee names for questions By default, attendee names appear next to submitted questions, but hosts and presenters can hide those names in Participant View. Choose Meeting > Preferences. In the list at left, select Q & A pod..deselect Show Submitter Name or Show Presenter Name Export Q & A contents to a text file or 1. In the upper-right corner of the Q & A pod, click the menu icon. 2. Choose Export Q & A Logs, and then select either Save As RTF or E- mail Q & A Pod Administration All Pods remain available in a room, even if they have been hidden. Essentially you have a pod library consisting of all the default pods plus any others that you have added. Any Pod can be accessed to add to the room from the Pods menu. However, if you find that you University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 30

31 have too many pods available to effectively manage or you wish to completely delete a pod you can use the Manage Pods option (Pods > Manage Pods): 6 Room Layouts Connect has 3 default room layouts (Sharing, Discussion, Collaboration) which can easily be switched to by using the layout options in the Layouts menu: Each layout rearranges or adds pods depending on the main function of the layout. The default layouts allow you to easily transition from one mode to another, for example from giving a presentation to moving into a group discussion. All layouts are totally flexible and you can move and resize pods as required. 6.1 The Sharing Layout Default pods: Video Attendee List Chat Share University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 31

32 6.2 The Discussion Layout Default Pods: Attendee List Poll Chat Notes Video 6.3 The Collaboration Layout University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 32

33 Default Pods: Video Attendee List Notes Chat File Share Whiteboard 6.4 Custom Layouts To design your own layout which you can store as a default, from the menus select Layouts > Create New Layout You can use an existing layout as a template by choosing Duplicate an existing layout and choosing the option from the list. Otherwise you can create a new blank layout and University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 33

34 add the pods that you wish to use, moving and resizing as required. Give the new layout a specific name the layout will then be added to your default layout navigation menu making it easy to move between layouts: 7 Setting up a room Each room, like a physical room retains its properties when you leave it and go back to it. Any content (PowerPoint presentations, chat, Q&A) that has been in the room will be held in that room unless it is specifically removed by you. The layout of the room will also remain as you set it up the last time you were present there. This means that you can organise your room in advance set your layout and your content. You can arrange your content using the existing default layouts or create your own custom layouts. (See section 6) 7.1 Pre-Loading content Load up content by using the Share Pod. Any content that you upload using Share > Documents will be stored in the room even if you have made it hidden (e.g. if you have uploaded more than one presentation). You can leave a particular document visible if you wish so that when participants arrive in the room they will immediately see the presentation title. 8 Breakout Rooms Breakout rooms are sub-rooms that can be created within a session. They are useful for splitting a large group into smaller groups that can talk or collaborate. (Breakout rooms can be used in sessions that have 50 or fewer people. Hosts can create up to 5 breakout rooms for a single session. For example, if you have 20 people in a session, you could create 4 breakout rooms and move 5 attendees to each room.) In the breakout rooms, the attendees can speak to each other (depending on the audio configuration), use the Chat pod, collaborate on a whiteboard, and share their screens. The host can visit all of the breakout rooms to assist and answer questions. When work in the breakout rooms is complete, the host can end the breakout session and return attendees to the main room. Hosts are able to share what happened in the breakout rooms with everyone. If necessary, the host can return attendees to their same breakout University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 34

35 rooms. If you use the room again, you can also reuse the breakout room layout and content. (However, the assignment of attendees to breakout rooms is not retained.) 8.1 About breakout room layouts Hosts can use the default breakout room layout or design a new layout to use specifically with breakout rooms. Create a custom breakout room layout if you want to do preparatory work before sending content and people to breakout rooms. This can help meetings go faster and be better organized. The layout active when you click the Start Breakouts button is reproduced in all breakout rooms. For example, if layout 1 is active and you begin breakouts with three rooms, those 3 rooms use layout 1. If you change the meeting to layout 2 and add breakout room 4, then breakout room 4 uses layout 2. There are cases where you may want to have different layouts for different breakout rooms. For example, different breakout rooms may contain different content or attendee exercises. In this case, create separate layouts for the breakout rooms and ensure that the desired layout is active when you click Start Breakouts. If you want different content in each breakout room but do not require different layouts, prepare the rooms before attendees join the session. First configure the number of breakout rooms required, and then click Start Breakouts and move yourself from room to room, loading the required content into each Share pod. Then, end the breakouts. When attendees join and you click Start Breakouts again, the content is ready. (If necessary, you can also alter the layout and content of breakout rooms during a meeting.) 8.2 Creating and Managing Breakout Rooms Define breakout rooms and assign members While in a session, hosts can create breakout rooms and send attendees into the rooms. 1. In the Attendees pod, click the Breakout Room View button. Note: Only the host sees the Breakout Room View of the Attendees pod. 2. In the Attendees pod, three breakout rooms are available by default; click the Create A New Breakout button (the maximum available is 5). 3. Assign attendees to breakout rooms by either: until you have the number of rooms you want Manually selecting an attendee name in the list (use control-click or shiftclick to select multiple attendees). Then either select a breakout room from the pop-up menu or drag attendees to a breakout room. Automatically assign attendees to breakout rooms by clicking the Evenly Distribute From Main button. (Attendees previously assigned to specific breakout rooms remain in those rooms.) University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 35

36 Before and after dragging attendees to different breakout rooms Begin a breakout session In breakout rooms, attendees are automatically assigned the role of presenter. This gives them all presenter rights such as sharing their voice, sharing content in the Share pod, modifying whiteboards, and adding text to the Notes pod. When attendees are returned to the main room, they revert to their prior status. Note: All attendees can download shared content in breakout rooms. 1. In the Attendees pod, define breakout rooms, and assign attendees to the rooms. 2. Click Start Breakouts. Attendees are placed in the breakout rooms to which they were assigned. Breakout room with attendees assigned as presenters Note: If you are recording a session and send attendees to breakout rooms, the recording continues to record only the main room. (To edit the recording so those watching do not have to view an empty main room, see Section 9.4.) Visiting breakout rooms When breakout rooms are in use, hosts can visit different rooms, including the main room. To visit another room, drag your name to it in the Attendees pod. University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 36

37 8.2.4 Send a message to all attendees in breakout rooms Hosts can broadcast messages to all breakout rooms. This can be useful if you have noticed one or more rooms have a similar question. It is also a good practice to send attendees in breakout rooms a warning message a few minutes before ending breakout sessions and returning them to the main room. This allows attendees to finish speaking, loading files and working on the whiteboard before a breakout sessions ends. 1. In the upper-right corner of the Attendees pod, click the menu icon, and choose Broadcast Message. 2. Type the message, and then click Send. Attendees in all rooms see the message in the centre of the Connect window Conduct a poll in breakout rooms Hosts can conduct separate polls in each individual breakout room by placing themselves in the rooms and opening Poll pods. (For general information about polling, see Section 5.10.) Asking and answering questions in breakout rooms Attendees in breakout rooms can ask hosts a question at any time, whether a host is in their breakout room or not. If a participant wishes to verbally ask a host in the same breakout room a question, they can use the audio provided. If participants wish to type a question for hosts in the same breakout room, they can use the Chat pod menu to send a message to the host. The host can then respond in the Chat pod to the attendee alone or everyone. If a participant wishes to ask all hosts in the meeting a question, they can type in the Send Message To Hosts box, and then click the Send button. The question appears to all meeting hosts in a small message box with the attendee s name. Hosts can respond by entering the attendee s breakout room and using the Chat pod Chatting in breakout rooms If the Chat pod is available in the breakout room, use chat to communicate with others in your room only. You cannot chat with attendees in different breakout rooms. (For general information about using the Chat pod, see section 5.7.) End a breakout session Only hosts can end a breakout session. When breakout rooms are closed, all attendees are returned to the main meeting room. In the Breakout Room View of the Attendees pod, click End Breakouts. University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 37

38 8.2.9 Share breakout room content in main room After ending a breakout session, hosts can share the contents of a single breakout room with everyone in the main room. 1. In the main room, choose Pods > Breakout Pods. 2. Select a breakout room name, and then select Chat, Share, or Whiteboard. The selected content appears in a new floating pod. The contents are view only and cannot be changed or edited Reopen closed breakout rooms After ending a breakout session, you can return attendees to the breakout rooms again. The configuration of rooms and assigned users remains in place for the entire meeting. 1. In the Attendees pod, click the Breakout Room View button. 2. (Optional) Make changes, such as adding a room, deleting a room, or moving attendees into different rooms. 3. Click Start Breakouts Remove breakout rooms Note: In the Pods menu, pods from breakout rooms remain available until you remove them in the Attendees pod. To remove all rooms, click the Attendee pod menu, and choose Remove All Rooms. To store pod content, select Save Pod Information For Future Reference, and enter a session name. (You can re-access saved pods from the Pods > Breakout Pods menu.) To remove an individual breakout room, including all pods and content it contains, click the X button to the right of the room name. The numbering of subsequent rooms is adjusted to ensure continuity. 9 Using the Recording Function University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 38

39 A host can record a session. When played back, the recording shows exactly what the attendees saw and heard. Everything that happens in the room is recorded, except for the Presenter Only area and breakout rooms. You can start and stop recording at any time, so you decide what content to record, however each time you stop and start this will create new recordings there is no pause function. A host can create a reference archive of meetings and make the recordings available to attendees. The meeting recording is assigned a URL and added to the Recordings page associated with the meeting room in Connect. To play a recording, you need an internet connection, the recording URL and permission to view it. 9.1 Start recording a meeting From the menu bar, select Meeting > Record Meeting. In the Record Meeting box, enter a name and summary for the meeting recording: this will make it easily identifiable. A recording icon (red circle) appears in the menu bar to indicate that the meeting is being recorded and a pop-up message is displayed: 9.2 Stop recording a meeting To stop recording a meeting, either: or Place the pointer over the red circle in the menu bar, click the link to stop from the pop up menu and stop the recording; Select Meeting > Record Meeting to remove the check mark from the menu bar. The meeting recording is saved and is available for playback at any time. 9.3 Playing back a recorded meeting A host or presenter makes the recording URL available so attendees can play the recording. Every recording is automatically assigned a unique URL and is stored on the Recordings tab for the meeting room in Connect For optimal performance, a high-speed (wired) internet connection is recommended for recording playback. You control who has access to the recording: Any user invited to the meeting using the invitees or enrollees tabs in Adobe Connect Central can view the recording if given the recording URL. Any user invited to the meeting as a host can see information such as permissions, if they have rights to browse to the Adobe Connect Central folder where the recording is stored. Anyone with Internet access can view the recording if you make it public. University of Cambridge Information Services (Computing) ( ) Page 39